LAURENT v. STATE (2019)

¶1. In this appeal, a petitioner failed to seek permission from the Mississippi Supreme Court before filing his petition for postconviction relief (PCR). He did so anyway, and the trial court dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2. Leo Laurent Jr. was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to life in prison. This Court affirmed his conviction and sentence in Laurent v. State, 94 So. 3d 1232, 1236 (¶19) (Miss. Ct. App. 2012). Laurent twice sought permission to file a PCR petition as required by Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-39-7 (Rev. 2015), but the Mississippi Supreme Court denied his requests.¹ Undeterred, Laurent filed his PCR petition in the trial court. The trial court denied the petition for lack of jurisdiction.

¶3. On appeal, Laurent argues that he was denied a mental evaluation and that his trial counsel was ineffective.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶4. “When reviewing a trial court's denial or dismissal of a PCR motion, we will only disturb the trial court's factual findings if they are clearly erroneous; however, we review the trial court's legal conclusions under a de novo standard of review.” Bass v. State, 237 So. 3d 172, 173 (¶4) (Miss. Ct. App. 2017).

DISCUSSION

¶5. Laurent's case was affirmed on direct appeal, so he was required to seek permission from the Supreme Court before filing his PCR petition in the trial court. § 99-39-7. “This procedure is not merely advisory, but jurisdictional.” Bateman v. State, 267 So. 3d 793, 796 (¶8) (Miss. Ct. App. 2018).

¶6. Because the Supreme Court denied Laurent permission to file his petition, the trial court properly dismissed Laurent's PCR petition for lack of jurisdiction. As a result, we affirm.

¶7. AFFIRMED.

FOOTNOTES

1.   The Court denied his first request in 2013 and the second in 2018.

McCARTY, J., FOR THE COURT:

BARNES, C.J., CARLTON AND J. WILSON, P.JJ., GREENLEE, WESTBROOKS, TINDELL, McDONALD, LAWRENCE AND C. WILSON, JJ., CONCUR.